Editorial

Beyond institutional boundaries: Focusing on the learner and embracing multi‑disciplinarity.

The University of Toronto was greatly honored to hold the 4th edition of the International Conference on e‑Learning between the 16th and the 17th of July, 2009. Toronto’s worldwide reputation as a vibrant multi‑cultural city and the university’s well‑established tradition of open academic exploration converged to provide an ideal milieu for the exchange of ideas and practices from around the globe. Thus, it came as no surprise to us that more than 300 participants graced us with their presence over the two days of the event, as presenters or attendees. We thank our international colleagues and our University of Toronto colleagues for making this conference a successful meeting of minds and experiences. We are enriched from the learning we had the opportunity to absorb over the two days of the conference and we hope all our participating colleagues and partners share this feeling.

In this special issue of the Electronic Journal of e‑Learning we attempt to convey at least part of that learning through the selection of articles we put together. While, inevitably, we had to leave out other high quality manuscripts, we trust that the material included in this issue captures the cross‑disciplinary spirit and truly international dimension of ICEL. Before diving into our description of the articles, however, we want to place their content in the context that was framed, in a somewhat unintended fashion, by the two keynote speakers. The speeches delivered by Professor Robert McClintock of Teachers College, Columbia University and Professor Gage Averill, Dean of the University of Toronto Mississauga, complemented each other in more ways than we would have ventured to imagine before the conference.

On the first day of the conference, in his talk entitled Disclosing the Commons: On Breaking the Structural Limits of Education, Professor McClintock presented his theories about the trajectories of technologies, making the particular point that as we, individuals, gain more autonomous control of our learning (something he called ""iStudy""), we diminish control of those people who have historically existed between the ""thinker"" and the audience. But we are at an ""intersection."" In McClintock’s worldview, we are at a point where we can become the agents of ""iStudy"" – where we can expand user control, or we can fall back and reproduce patterns of institutionalized dominance and control. In his own work, McClintock has tried to put theory to action. He has sought to create environments where both learner and teacher can work without reliance on support. In his view, the future of e‑Learning is in how quickly we can normalize faculty to be self‑reliant and to produce user‑generated teaching and learning.

Using music as his example, Professor Averill treated ICEL participants to a lesson on post‑Fordist theory as it relates to education during his keynote address, Thinking Outside the Bachs: Music, Materiality, and Mash‑ups in the Information Society, on the second day of the conference. Universities, Averill argued, have historically been built around a Fordist approach to learning, where teaching is produced in a controlled, one‑size‑fits‑all modality and where the mastering of scarcity maintains the hegemony of the institution. But, according to Averill, the digital age is pushing back hard against this Fordist approach. The world is becoming a niche‑of‑one market, in an era Averill referred to as ""post‑scarcity,"" with its inherent on‑demand immediacy, infinite choice, universal access and portability. Learning, as with all cultural production, has seen the time from investment, to production, to consumption, reduced to nearly zero under the influence of capitalism. He calls this phenomenon ""prosumption,"" the idea that consumers are blurring the lines between production and consumption, as they take and reuse, and ultimately push for content to be free. In this context, Averill concluded, the challenge for educational institutions in this post‑Fordist digital age is to move with the times, but still find a way to maintain the quality of the educational experience, and maintain the business of running the school.

There is a common thread that arises from these thematic approaches; that is, the need to breach entrenched educational institutionalism. And this breach of institutionalism gives us food for thought in re‑defining the pedagogical value of digital technologies by placing emphasis on the advancement of the individual learner’s needs. Assisted through e‑learning tools, instructors and learners alike can expand the increasingly fluid boundaries of knowledge internalization that transcends the walls of one’s place of learning. It is while pondering these trends that we assembled the collection of articles contained herein which speak from multiple perspectives tied together by the practical applications of digital technologies in various educational domains.

In an example of crossing the institutional boundaries, Charbonneau‑Gowdy and Cechova report on a project designed for language teaching for learners located in remote areas, away from the affordances of a physical place of instruction. Cohorts of learners from Canada and the Czech Republic avail themselves of a platform using Web 2.0 technologies to communicate and gain fluency in English or French. The authors suggest that there is strong evidence that the online real‑time communication method they describe is conducive to language acquisition.

A successful example of e‑learning in health care is demonstrated by Garside et al. They designed and tested an online module meant to train resident clinical clerks and residents in filling out the paperwork needed in compliance with the Mental Health Act in Canada. The module contained a pre‑determined sequence of steps, including an introductory section, a presentation of the legal forms, a guided tour outlining the proper completion of the forms as well as a case study to which the user had to apply the form. Based on the testing conducted by the authors under laboratory conditions, the conclusion suggests that the e‑learning module is an efficient and cost‑effective method in training health workers in this specific aspect of medical care.

Two articles in this special issue approach blended learning methods in very similar ways, yet in very different disciplines. Both instances presented here comparatively illustrate the pedagogical utility of technology in the classroom, without diminishing the continued importance of tried and tested methods of course delivery in the university. In the field of visual communications, George‑Palilonis and Filak experimented in a classroom setting with the parallel use of traditional course methods and electronic means of delivering the same course content. Two versions of the course were set up, one involving instructor‑led lectures and printed textbooks in the classroom, the other comprised of audio or video lectures and an option to use an e‑book. The authors found that, over the 15‑week duration of the course, the level of student engagement in the blended approach was on par with the traditional method. However, the significant finding pointed out by the authors was the fact that the students in the blended course were less negative about the course material and their performance than the students in the traditional course.

Laing Gibbard and Salajan provide another example of blended learning in a prosthodontic dentistry course. Second‑ and third‑year students in the course, learning the principles of removable partial denture design, were each divided into two equal groups. For each year, one group performed the design on paper using a physical cast‑model of the denture, while the other group carried out the same task via a web‑based e‑learning module containing a sequence of decisional steps enhanced with 3D images and animations. The results of the pre‑ and post‑tests revealed that the students were impressed with the interactive nature of the online application. While they seemed to have performed better in the e‑learning scenario than in the traditional mode, the students still felt that the tactile sense of holding a physical model was still important in their understanding of the design principles they had to learn.

Andergassen et al. present a study on the motivations of students who blog. In their study, Andergassen and her colleagues used ""Ethnographic Decision Tree Modeling"" to create predictive models of blog use by the students. The researchers found that those students who did use blogs, did so because of an interest in technology or some other intrinsic motivation. Those students who started using a blog but then stopped cited dissatisfaction with the technical features of the blog software and the lack of interaction with others as the main motivation for stopping. Finally, those students who did not even try using the blog cited the loss of privacy and the lack of immediacy as the main reasons for not adopting the technology. Overall, the researchers conclude that the lack of use of blogs was mostly attributable to what they describe as ""external"" factors, whereas those that did adopt the technology did so for internalized reasons.

Takeuchi et al. describe an ingenious e‑learning system implemented in Japan, developed for university students in engineering. The system involves a university‑wide networking solution that stores and broadcasts course materials both through workstations available throughout the campus as well as through a more novel medium represented by portable video game players. On the one hand, this setup provides the instructors and students to communicate via webcasts allowing for adjustments in course content application and provision of feedback both between teachers and learners as well as between peer students. On the other hand, the use of the portable video game players give students the possibility to engage in self‑paced and personalized learning within, around or outside the university setting in situations requiring quick reviews or reinforcement of learning concepts.

Aborisade writes about his experiences using wikis with a large cohort class (+2000 students) in Nigeria. According to Aborisade, the large‑class context calls for the creation of innovative pedagogies. He and his colleagues divided the students in his Language Arts course into problem‑solving teams and had them use wikis to share the results of materials gathering and interviews on a project. A term paper was the end result, but the process of learning was the main objective. As a result of the wiki initiative, Aborisade and his colleagues noted a significant positive affect on the learning process, teamwork and leadership. In addition to improving ICT skills, the project also saw the wiki environment grow organically into a social network. Unfortunately, all was not perfect with the project, particularly the strain of a poor infrastructure, providing further insight into the benefits and challenges of the set‑up and use of new knowledge technologies in our technology‑poor context.

Two papers in this issue approached lecture recording and podcasting as an educational methodology from slightly divergent angles. Gorra and Finlay share their experiences in using podcasts as a formal part of a business studies course. The researchers found that the podcasts provided a reasonable alternative for students with different learning preferences and enhanced motivation to study. Gorra and Finlay also noted that podcasting production is viewed by faculty as a benefit for their own peer‑based professional learning and development. The researchers noted that students seemed to value flexibility over mobility (tending to watch on a computer rather than on a portable media player like an iPod) and included the advice that podcasts are best used as a supplement to existing learning materials, and their use should be discussed in face‑to‑face course sessions so that students understand they are a fully integrated part of the course.

On a similar theme, Joordens et al. studied how students interacted with online recordings of lectures from mathematics courses and compared those interactions to how students used recorded lectures in a large cohort psychology course. Over several years of study on the use of recorded lectures, researchers discovered that more students preferred to watch the lectures online rather than attend live; that the watching experience was unrelated to the intended performance (for example, many students watched the lectures in novel contexts, for example with their parents); and students became habitualized to one mode or another (either in‑person or online). In an earlier study, Joordens and other colleagues determined that simply watching the recordings did not result in a change to grades, however, in the psychology course, there was a positive correlation between the use of the pause and seek buttons and the final exam grade. But the researchers weren’t sure if the correlation was causal or related to some other factor. So, to test the hypothesis, Joordens and some math colleagues recorded the lectures of an upper year calculus course and put them online as well. In the math course, however, watching the lectures online and using the pause button were negatively correlated to performance. This has led the researchers to the following hypothesis: the use of the pause feature in watching recorded lectures is more likely associated with surface‑level memorization‑type learning, which is not an effective strategy for conceptual courses like upper year calculus, but would be a more reasonable fit in an introductory psychology course.

In her article, Paulo Kushnir describes and tests the effects of the informational stimuli embedded in online environments on student cognition. The author tests her hypotheses of perceptual loading on two categories of students, one highly experienced and the other one less experienced in using online materials for learning. The students are faced with three scenarios involving a stimulus‑low, a familiar and a stimulus‑rich environment, respectively. One of the significant findings in Paulo Kushinr’s experiment was the apparent counterintuitive logic that the students considered highly experienced with online tools were the ones who reported negative learning results in the stimulus rich environments. To redress such outcomes, Paulo Kushnir makes the case for solutions that include systems of online content delivery that allow learners to customize the learning environment according to their experience.

Like Paulo Kushnir, Greener and Jenkinson each set out to evaluate e‑learning through a cognitive meta‑analysis approach. Greener begins by pointing out that there isn’t much current evidence that teachers are role‑modeling effective e‑learning to their learners. While some of this may be due to competency issues, Greener believes more of this reluctance is about fear and anxiety. Her paper explores the concepts and behaviors implied in the role‑modeling of effective e‑learning in the classroom, drawing on data directly from teachers and learners. Greener concludes that when a teacher is prepared to appear open and perhaps vulnerable in class, not insisting on being the only person in control of what the students learn, and when a teacher demonstrates the value of the learning processes, rather than the value of content, effective role‑modeling of e‑learning occurs. Sometimes, this is a question of giving the student experience greater importance than the teacher experience in order to produce the socially purposeful outcome of the able enquirer and critical thinker who is at home with evolving technology, writes Greener.

In her research, Jenkison, explains that when we attempt to apply an information‑processing model to the evaluation of e‑learning, it fails to capture the complex interactions that occur between the learner and the knowledge object. According to Jenkinson, it is not surprising that studies examining the effectiveness of e‑learning technology, particularly in the area of basic science, have reported mixed results. Interactive technology has been integrated into the curriculum at many levels, writes Jenkinson, but at times we are sacrificing an opportunity to explore understanding in a more meaningful way, in favor of more replicable, generalizable results. While this model of evaluation may tell us what new knowledge is learned by students, writes Jenkinson, it fails to describe both the transformative process by which new knowledge develops and the factors involved in supporting and sustaining this change.

Like Jenkinson, Barkand and Kush are interested in complex learning environments. In their case, Barkand and Kush write about three‑dimensional virtual learning environments generally, and the Game Environment Applying Real Skills (GEARS) system specifically. Barkand and Kush aptly describe the learning environment and the experiences of the learners, but as they themselves conclude, being a relatively new form of educational delivery, there needs to be an urgent call for those who are utilizing three‑dimensional virtual learning environments to collaborate and conduct research regarding their experiences and success for use in future program development. In fact, we would agree and extend this notion to all technology‑mediated learning.

We are confident that the collection of papers assembled in this special issue is evocative of the power and versatility of e‑learning solutions at once enhancing, pervading and supplanting the institutional fabric of learning. It is quite evident from these readings that the physical place of learning is being adapted to meet the challenges of a boundless quest for individualized knowledge generation and acquisition. We hope you will enjoy the variety of viewpoints contained here and that you will find them as thought‑provoking as we did.

Abstract

A regular feature of the Nigerian tertiary education context is large numbers of students crammed into small classrooms or lecture theatres. This context had long begged for the creation of innovative learning spaces and adoption of engaging pedagogies. Recourse to technology support and experimenting with the WIKI as a learning tool at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigeria gave us an insight into the benefits and challenges of the set‑up and use of new knowledge technologies in our technology‑poor context. This paper reports an experiment in an extra‑large (XXL) class of freshmen (2000+) on a module of second language project writing using the WIKI. The paper emphasises the unique advantages of the WIKI in a large blended learning class and the affordances for socio‑cultural and collaborative learning experience. In creating new learning teams and forging collaboration among learners leveraging one another's abilities, the wiki experience extended the 'classroom' beyond the physical space, engaged students in interactional communication in the second language, encouraged negotiation of meaning, and challenged learners in finding their 'solutions' to real life problems around them, aside from acquisition of hands‑on digital literacy. The paper reports on how learners experienced and participated in learning on a technology supported module. Data for the investigation and evaluation of students' learning experiences were collected using teacher observation of team formation and collaboration on activities offline and tracked students' logs, footprints and activities on group pages online; students' feedback on the end‑of‑course learners' evaluation forms; and their reflections as gleaned from their comments, encouraged and freely made continually by many from inception through to the end of the course, on the front page of our wiki. The report employs both qualitative and quantitative parameters. Results indicated a large number of students felt satisfied that the learning experience, though difficult, was worth their while; it opened up new vistas to the world; it got them working and learning to collaborate in groups; they developed a level of autonomy they would like to keep, and would like more of their courses supported by technology and thought the medium offered hope for the future, as it opened up new vistas in their learning.

Abstract

Positive impacts on learning through blogging, such as active knowledge construction and reflective writing, have been reported. However, not many students use weblogs in informal contexts, even when appropriate facilities are offered by their universities. While motivations for blogging have been subject to empirical studies, little research has addressed the issue of why students choose not to blog. This paper presents an empirical study undertaken to gain insights into the decision making process of students when deciding whether to keep a blog or not. A better understanding of students' motivations for (not) blogging may help decision makers at universities in the process of selecting, introducing, and maintaining similar services. As informal learning gains increased recognition, results of this study can help to advance appropriate designs of informal learning contexts in Higher Education. The method of ethnographic decision tree modelling was applied in an empirical study conducted at the Vienna University of Technology, Austria. Since 2004, the university has been offering free weblog accounts for all students and staff members upon entering school, not bound to any course or exam. Qualitative, open interviews were held with 3 active bloggers, 3 former bloggers, and 3 non‑ bloggers to elicit their decision criteria. Decision tree models were developed out of the interviews. It turned out that the modelling worked best when splitting the decision process into two parts: one model representing decisions on whether to start a weblog at all, and a second model representing criteria on whether to continue with a weblog once it was set up. The models were tested for their validity through questionnaires developed out of the decision tree models. 30 questionnaires have been distributed to bloggers, former bloggers and non‑ bloggers. Results show that the main reasons for students not to keep a weblog include a preference for direct (online) communication, and concerns about the loss of privacy through blogging. Furthermore, the results indicate that intrinsic motivation factors keep students blogging, whereas stopping a weblog is mostly attributable to external factors.

Abstract

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are becoming increasingly popular in online education environments and have multiple pedagogical advantages over more traditional approaches to education. VLEs include 3D worlds where students can engage in simulated learning activities such as Second Life. According to Claudia L'Amoreaux at Linden Lab, "at least 300 universities around the world teach courses and conduct research in Second Life." However, to date, VLEs have been very limited in use for K‑12 education. One option for secondary schools was developed by Game Environment Applying Real Skills (GEARS) and can be used in online or traditional schools. The 3D VLE is named ARC: The Impending Gale. This program has been used successfully for over a year as part of the Lincoln Interactive online curriculum. ARC allows students to create their own custom avatar and enter the educational environment. The actual content of the game differs depending on the subject the student is taking. Current courses include earth science, geography, pre‑algebra, and spanish. The 3D VLE experience is designed to serve as a reinforcement of the concepts learned in the traditional lessons. The game environment itself has been very well received by students primarily because many of the continued development features were derived from student suggestions. One unique feature that was most requested was the inclusion of voice chat. Voice chat was only added as part of the ARC headquarters where students were able to meet before going out into the game world for their own specific content. The students are also highly motivated to progress through the content. ARC has been a great success for Lincoln Interactive and its parent company the National Network of Digital Schools. The social aspect of ARC was limited, and the ARC Headquarters prompted a plan to create a 3D Virtual Social and Educational World (VSEW) for the 15,000 students that had access to the Lincoln Interactive curriculum in 2009. With the inclusion of a social component, the concept of an online community was evaluated. Garrison's et al. (2000) Community of Inquiry framework is used to explore the Lincoln Interactive Community. The VSEW contains a 3D social space with custom avatars, chat, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) communication, social objects in the form of community musical instruments, and a tutor zone for teachers. In 2009 four educational games are included in the VSEW. These educational games focus on basic concepts in the three disciplines of math, social studies, and language arts. Garrison et al, (2000) Social Presence, Cognitive Presence, and Teaching Presence are each explained in regards to the VSEW. Both ARC and the VSEW are implemented, and as of November 2009 they are currently being used by students. While there is still much to learn and explore in regards to 3D VLEs and Social Worlds, practical application by GEARS in an online secondary school has been positively accepted by faculty and students. National Network of Digital Schools: http:nndsonline.org Lincoln Interactive Curriculum: http:www.lincolninteractive.com Game Environment Applying Real Skills: http:gears.nndsonline.org 3D Virtual Social and Educational World: http:www.learnwithfriends.com.

Abstract

Traditional educational and training settings have dictated that the act of learning is an activity that is motivated by learners, directed by a teacher expert and based on information transfer and data manipulation. In this scenario, it has been assumed that learners more or less acquire knowledge or develop sets of skills as a result of such activity. With this model in place, learning ends when the training activities cease â€” and implies that repeated doses of similar training are required over time. Various computer technologies, as they have been generally integrated into educational settings, have taken on the role as tools to support such a model. In some cases they are used to replace the teacher in these contexts although not without serious implications for learners and their learning it has been argued. During the last three decades, a growing movement in educational research, based on the theoretical support of Leon Vygtosky and Mikhail Bakhtin, is advocating that the traditional conceptualization of the learning process is misconceived. From the perspective of this movement, learning is understood as a life‑long, social act of constructing knowledge in a dialogic activity with others. Within this model, social interaction is the precursor to higher order thinking rather than the reverse. The challenging question emerging for many educators is how new technologies can support knowledge and skill building in social constructivist‑based learning settings. And a corollary to this question arises: Depending on the particular technology chosen, what are the implications for learning and identity construction? In this paper, we describe the Language Learning Through Conferencing project (LLTC) in which an affordable video‑based web conferencing technology and desktop computers were used to conduct language learning sessions via the Internet. The project description, project content, and the experiences that took place over a sustained period, as well as the potential future for this approach to distance learning in a variety of fields are presented. The aim of the Language Learning Through Conferencing project (LLTC) has been to exploit a particular Web 2.0 technology to connect language learners internationally between Canada and new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe and more recently in the public sector in Canada. More specifically, the project was a means to respond to learners who faced challenges in finding opportunities for language learning both in Europe and in Canada. Outcomes from ongoing qualitative and quantitative findings gathered by the respective authors are indicating that these dialogic opportunities are also having a powerful influence on learners' professional, linguistic and personal identities as well as their views of technology and learning.

Abstract

Background: Every physician in Ontario needs to know how to fill out a Form 1 in order to legally hold a person against their will for a psychiatric assessment. These forms are frequently inaccurately filled out, which could constitute wrongful confinement and, in extreme circumstances, could lead to fines as large as $25,000. Training people to fill out a Form 1 accurately is a large task, and e‑learning (Internet‑based training) provides a potentially efficient model for health human resources training on the Form 1. Objective: In this study, we looked at the efficacy of an e‑learning module on the Form 1 by comparing baseline knowledge and skills with posttest performance. Methods: 7 medical students and 15 resident physicians were recruited for this study from within an academic health sciences setting in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (McMaster University). The intervention took place over 1 hour in an educational computing lab and included a pretest (with tests of factual knowledge, clinical reasoning, and demonstration of skill filling out a Form 1), the e‑learning module intervention, and a posttest. The primary outcome was the change between pre‑ and posttest performance. A scoring system for grading the accuracy of the Form 1 was developed and two blinded raters marked forms independently. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two sequences of assessments (A then B vs B then A), with a balanced design determining which test the participants received as either the pretest or posttest. Inter‑rater reliability was determined using the Intraclass Correlation. Repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted. Results: The Intraclass Correlation (ICC) as the measure for inter‑rater reliability was 0.98. For all outcome measures of knowledge, clinical reasoning, and skill at filling out the Form 1 there was a statistically significant improvement between pretest and posttest performance (knowledge, F(1,21) 54.5, p<0.001; clinical reasoning, F(1,21) 9.39, p=0.006; Form 1 skill, F(1,21) 15.7, p=0.001). Further analysis showed no significant differences or interactions with other variables such as between raters, the order of assessment, or trainee type. Conclusions: Under laboratory conditions, this e‑learning module demonstrated substantial efficacy for training medical students and residents on the theory and practice of filling out the Form 1 of the Mental Health Act. E‑learning may prove to be an efficient and cost‑effective medium for training physicians on this important medico‑legal aspect of care. Further research is required to look at the longer‑term impact of training and broader implementation strategies across the province for medical trainees and practicing physicians.

Abstract

Advances in digital technology and a rapidly evolving media landscape continue to dramatically change teaching and learning. Among these changes is the emergence of multimedia teaching and learning tools, online degree programs, and hybrid classes that blend traditional and digital content delivery. At the same time, visual communication programs that are traditionally print‑centric have had to make room for Web design and multimedia storytelling courses, as well as technical skills development. To add parsimony to these two areas of study, we chronicle how a blended model has been introduced in a required, 100‑level visual communication course through a longitudinal study that followed 174 students through two versions of the same course, one that used blended learning strategies and one that participated in a more traditional method of course delivery. In combining an analysis of statements made by the participants in weekly journals (n=13,552) and the data gathered through a survey (n=174), we compared reactions between the two groups. Additionally, qualitative data from the journals was used to fully explicate the reactions students had to the course. This study sheds light on the effectiveness of a blended model in the context of students' enjoyment, engagement, and perceived learning outcomes. The results revealed that the blended model was in no way different from the traditional course in terms of engagement and attachment. Journal data revealed students in the blended sections were significantly less negative about the course material, personal achievement, technology, and their emotional reactions than their traditional counterparts. Additionally, statements made by students regarding the issue of fear of the course and problems regarding technology substantially faded over the 15‑week semester. Our overall findings indicate that students are able to adapt well to the technology and processes that make blended learning different from traditional classroom learning. Implications for pedagogy and future research are discussed.

Abstract

Audio or video podcasts can be a useful tool to supplement practical exercises such as business simulations. In this paper, we discuss a case study in which different types of podcast were utilised to support the delivery of a course in international business. The students work in groups and run a fictional company using business simulation software, which gives them the opportunity to evaluate their decision making skills. A number of podcasts were used as reusable learning objects for different student cohorts. Faculty members produced visually enhanced audio podcasts offering tutor discussions of key elements of the computer‑assisted business simulation used by the students. The podcasts were made available via the virtual learning environment (Blackboard Vista), as well as for subscription by web browser‑based RSS readers, such as Google and downloadable RSS readers, such as iTunes. Our evaluation of this approach to using podcasts takes into account pedagogic and technical issues. Firstly, faculty members involved in this case study were interviewed to obtain their views and experiences on the process of producing podcasts as well as the suitability of podcasts to support their teaching. Secondly, students were surveyed and interviewed about the value of the podcasts and the way in which they were used. This work is on‑going and initial informal student feedback indicates that the podcasts engaged the students and supported their understanding of the international business module. This paper presents a snapshot of the current findings which generally support the value of this innovative way of using podcasting for learning and teaching.

Abstract

The learning and teaching relationship, whether online or in the classroom, is changing. Mentis (2008) offers a typology of teacher roles gathered from current literature on e‑learning including instructor, designer, guide, mediator, curator and mentor, which offer the university teacher a striking range of ways in which to develop relationships with students in the mutual development of knowledge and understanding. A study of Higher Education teachers in the UK proposed a shift in their role and behaviour concomitant with the explosion of VLE usage in universities (Greener 2008). As online and blended learning become familiar features in the university landscape, pedagogical discussions are being given more priority and ideas about how students can be enabled to learn appropriate skills for employability and lifelong learning, as well as higher order thinking, claim attention. Online, the teacher's status can easily be eroded, as learners can compare teacher‑designed resources with video lectures from across the world on similar topics and chat directly with experts in the field through their blogs. Teachers who are open to new ways of thinking about their subject, and welcome such self‑ directed behaviour from learners, are most likely to integrate new technology into their teaching (Baylor and Ritchie 2002), and their own competence with technology will be a factor in how such integration works. But it is vital in these discussions not to lose sight of classroom behaviour in the rush to develop e‑moderating and blogging skills for teachers. What teachers say and do in their face‑to‑face classes has always had a major impact on not only what is learned but also how it is learned. Bandura suggests that most human learning is done by observing and imitating others' behaviour (1977) provided the potential learner attends, can retain, reproduce and wants to do these things. So if we aim to integrate at least the affordances of VLEs into teaching design for blended learning, one of our considerations must be how the teacher uses the VLE in front of the learner. There is no doubt that teachers are increasingly uploading materials and weblinks etc into VLEs to support learners (or are made to by institutional policy). However there is less evidence that teachers are role‑modelling effective e‑ learning to their learners. Some of this is about competence, but it is rare for a teacher to lack the ability to learn basic technology use. More of this reluctance is about fear and anxiety, to be shown up as incompetent in class to what are considered the net generation. This paper will explore the concepts and behaviours implied in the role‑modelling of effective e‑learning in the classroom, drawing on data from teachers and learners involved in using VLEs and other Web resources in face‑to‑face sessions.

Abstract

In many academic areas, students' success depends upon their ability to envision and manipulate complex multidimensional information spaces. Fields in which students struggle with mastering these types of representations include (but are by no means limited to) mathematics, science, medicine, and engineering. There has been some educational research examining the impact of incorporating multiple media modalities into curriculum specific to these disciplines. For example, both Richard Mayer (multimedia learning) and John Sweller (cognitive load) have contributed greatly to establishing theories describing the basic mechanisms of learning in a multimedia environment. However when we attempt to apply these theories to the evaluation of e‑ learning in a more dynamic "real world" context the information processing model that forms the basis of this research fails to capture the complex interactions that occur between the learner and the knowledge object. It is not surprising that studies examining the effectiveness of e‑learning technology, particularly in the area of basic science, have reported mixed results. In part this may be due to the quality of the stimuli being assessed. This may also be explained by the context in which interactivity is being utilized and the model that is used to evaluate its effectiveness. Educational researchers have begun to identify a need for more fine‑grained research studies that capture the subtleties of learners' interactions with dynamic and interactive learning objects. In undergraduate medical and life science education, interactive technology has been integrated into the curriculum at many levels. This paper reviews experimental studies drawn from personal experience where an attempt has been made to measure the efficacy of educational technology. In examining the shortcomings of these more traditional experiments, we can then apply this understanding to characterizing a more flexible approach to evaluation and its potential in measuring the effectiveness of educational technology. Understanding the nature of technology‑mediated learning interactions and the way in which they foster depth of understanding is a great challenge for both educational researchers and developers of e‑learning technologies. By adopting an evaluative framework that takes a more flexible approach to measuring the emergent nature of understanding, we can examine the capacity of educational technology to support more complex understanding of curricular subject matter.

Abstract

At the University of Toronto at Scarborough, we provide enhanced flexibility to our students using a blended learning approach (i.e., the webOption) whereby classes are videotaped as they are offered in a traditional manner, then posted online for subsequent student access. Students can attend lectures live, watch them online at their convenience, or both. Previous research examining the webOption in the context of Introductory Psychology revealed that (a) students were satisfied with the webOption in general, (b) students used and appreciated the pause and seek features afforded by the webOption interface, and (c) those who used the pause and seek features performed slightly better on exams (Bassili & Joordens, 2008). The current research examines similar issues in the context of two mathematics courses. These courses differ from the lecture‑based Introductory Psychology class in their emphasis on the teaching of mathematical proofs; cognitive skills that, like any other skill, are enhanced with practice (Schneider & Shiffrin, 1977). Access to online lectures allows students to re‑experience the professor as they teach these skills. Given this, the webOption might be especially potent in these learning contexts. Surprisingly, the results we report here do not confirm that prediction. Students do use and appreciate the features of the webOption as was the case in our previous work, but those students who augmented their class attendance with online viewing, and those who used the lecture‑ control features the most, were actually the students who performed most poorly. Said another way, those students who had the most trouble with the course did indeed use the webOption as a way of understanding the material better but, interestingly, doing so did not result in better performance. Several possible reasons for this surprising result are considered.

Abstract

Students often report feeling more overloaded in courses that use e‑learning environments compared to traditional face‑to‑face courses that do not use such environments. Discussions here consider online design and organizational factors that might contribute to students' reports of information overload. It was predicted that certain online factors might contribute to stimulus overload and possibly students' perceived overload, rather than information overload per se. User characteristics and a range of design and organizational factors that might contribute to perceived overload are discussed and hypotheses of how such factors might affect learning outcomes are also discussed. An experiment was conducted to test predictions that (i) students' past online experience, (ii) the organization and relevance of online information, and (iii) the level of task difficulty affect (i) learning outcomes, (ii) students' perceptions of information overload, and (iii) students' perceptions of having enough time to complete experimental tasks. A total of 187 participants were tested in four experimental conditions that manipulated the organization and relevance of online material that students had to learn (ie, (i) a stimulus‑low environment, where the material to be learned was presented as scrolling text, with no other stimuli present; (ii) a familiar environment, where the material to be learned was set within the borders of a familiar course Web site; (iii) a stimulus‑rich or stimulus‑ noisy environment, where the material to be learned was set within the borders of an Amazon.com Web page (a Web site where you can search for, and buy books, videos and other products online); (iv) a PDF file environment, where the material to be learned was presented as a PDF file that resembled an online duplicate of the same material in the course textbook). Findings suggested that overly busy online environments that contain irrelevant information (ie, stimulus‑rich or stimulus‑noisy online environment) had a negative impact on learning for students ranked "high" on experience with e‑learning technologies, but no impact on learning for other students (as measured by a knowledge test of material studied during experimental sessions). There is no doubt that online environments contain vast amounts of information and stimuli; often some of which are irrelevant and distracting. How one handles irrelevant or distracting information and stimuli can have a significant impact on learning. Surprisingly, results here suggest that overload affected only experienced students. Perceptual load hypotheses are discussed to explain what initially seemed to be counterintuitive results. This paper examines literature that considers factors that can affect learning online, strategies for how teachers can ensure positive outcomes for the technology‑based classroom, and strategies for avoiding online pitfalls that might leave students frustrated or burdened with feelings of overload.

Abstract

A unique approach was planned and implemented for undergraduate dental students that would reinforce the principles of removable partial denture (RPD) design. 162 students were grouped according to their year of dental studies (66 second‑year students and 96 third‑year students) within the Discipline of Prosthodontics at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto. Previous training for the students consisted of the traditional Socratic approach, including lectures, seminars, and laboratory pre‑clinical hands‑on exercises. During the testing session, all the students were given the case history of a particular patient. One half of each of the classes was instructed to design an RPD using the traditional, clinically‑related approach, with a dental model that could be touched and seen, dental surveyors, and writing instruments. When finished, various treatment options were discussed. The other half of the classes was given the same instructions but saw the dental model only in animated form choices of drop‑down design features made in a particular orderly sequence as the students worked step‑by‑step through the computer simulation. A pre‑test questionnaire was given to all students concerning their design choices, the order in which they chose the denture components, and their learning experiences. All students were then asked to design an RPD for a different but similar case using dental models in the traditional clinical manner. Post‑test questionnaires were given to assess the effectiveness of the method of their pre‑test technique, in addition to their enjoyment of the approach. A cross‑over situation followed one week later, whereby each group of students went through the alternate approach from the previous session. The results from the third‑year student data and implications of this blended approach for teaching and learning RPD design are analyzed and discussed.

Abstract

The Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology at Tokyo University of Science developed a two‑campus system to produce well‑trained engineers possessing both technical and humanistic traits. In their first year of study, students reside in dormitories in the natural setting of the Oshamambe campus located in Hokkaido, Japan. The education program at Oshamambe instills a rich appreciationawareness of humanity which especially enables them to empathize with nature. The faculty has been developing a novel e‑Learning system called SPES NOVA (Scalable Personality‑Adapted Education System with Networking of Views and Activities). SPES NOVA, which is intended to increase competency in communication skills, is based on a remote meeting system that is accessible simultaneously to multiple users via a Flash plug‑in on the Internet. To link users in separate locations, each user must have a headset and web cam attached to a personal computer with an Internet connection. At Oshamambe, the SPES NOVA e‑Learning system links the students to each other and to the professors. In one of the first applications of SPES NOVA, a student puts on a headset and sits in front of a computer equipped with a camera, and then accesses small‑group instruction of a humanity course based mainly on discussion. An electronic whiteboard is displayed at the center of the monitor, and live‑action shots of the users are arranged around the computer screen. The voice and picture data of the lecture are stored as educational materials on the server. Consequently, students can review an entire lecture as well as their own speech and behavior. The teacher can easily cut segments from the motion pictures of the lecture and combine them into teaching materials. SPES NOVA includes an e‑Learning system that distributes educational materials via a wireless LAN during instruction. The system has also been used effectively in an example of ubiquitous computing in laboratory training courses, which included small group instruction. The students are able to browse the systematic exposition of experimental techniques as well as learn the correct usage of experimental apparatus by using a portable video game player during experiments. The teaching materials contain not only the answers to possible questions, but also the lectures for the day. The e‑Learning system can record the laboratory training course lectures and then stream them back in video format. Furthermore, the portable video game player can save images as well as data from the experiments. This e‑Learning system is connected to the computer network on campus. Therefore, students can review the learning materials by using a personal computer before and after the laboratory training courses. When used during the small group instruction of the laboratory training course, this unique system effectively helps participants develop lecture note‑taking skills, hone communication skills, and learn the correct usage of the experimental apparatus used in liberal arts. Furthermore, with SPES NOVA, we can classify individual students not only according to their academic achievements, but also in relation to their behaviour, temperaments, and lifestyles. Subsequently, we can establish a recursive evaluation system for each student.